MORGANTOWN òòò½ÊÓƵ” The style Ross Hodgeòòò½ÊÓƵ™s basketball teams employ on the court has evolved over his more than two decades in the coaching profession.
He now brings his defensive mindset to West Virginia, having recently been hired as the Mountaineer menòòò½ÊÓƵ™s coach.
The 44-year-old native of Dallas played collegiately at Paris (Texas) Junior College (1999-2001) and Texas A&M-Commerce (2001-03), which was then a Division II program but has since moved to Division I and also changed its name to East Texas A&M.
After his playing career, Hodge immediately got into coaching, first as a graduate assistant at Commerce. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s at that point his basketball education jumped to another level.
òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve always worked for defensive-minded coaches,òòò½ÊÓƵ Hodge said. òòò½ÊÓƵœCoach (Bill) Foy, who I played for and also coach for (at Texas A&M-Commerce), he was an Indiana guy, graduated from Indiana, so he was a Bob Knight guy like so many people coming from that region during that time. That was his deal.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI wasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t a great player, you know. I was OK, but there was a certain amount of grit and toughness and competitiveness and fight that I had to show up with every single day because I knew I wasnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t going to out-athlete anybody.òòò½ÊÓƵ
After his GA stint at Commerce, Hodge moved back to Paris JC, initially serving as an assistant coach for the Dragons and then taking over as head coach for three seasons (2006-09), amassing an 83-27 record.
After that, he switched over to another Texas junior college, Midland, where as head coach, the Chaps went 63-7 in two seasons (2009-11), culminating in a runner-up finish in the 2011 National Junior College Athletic òòò½ÊÓƵsociation tournament.
Following the NJCAA championship game, Hodge was offered an assistant coaching position at Southern Miss, and heòòò½ÊÓƵ™s been in the Division I ranks ever since.
òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve been really fortunate to work for some elite coaches. Larry Eustachy (whom Hodge coached under at Southern Miss from 2011-12 and Colorado State from 2012-16) was the national coach of the year, and he won the Big 12 twice in a row in the regular season at Iowa State,òòò½ÊÓƵ Hodge noted.
òòò½ÊÓƵœGrant McCasland (whom he coached under at Arkansas State from 2016-17 and North Texas from 2017-23 before taking over as head coach for him at UNT when McCasland left to become the head coach at Texas Tech in 2023) is one the best coaches in the country.
òòò½ÊÓƵœEven dating back to my younger time period, Bill Foy won a national championship in junior college (at Paris). Sam Walker was the all-time winningest coach at Texas A&M-Commerce. So, Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve been really, really fortunate to be around coaches who have mixed it all together.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Hodge learned something from each of those head coaches.
òòò½ÊÓƵœCoach Eustachy was the master of simplicity,òòò½ÊÓƵ explained Hodge. òòò½ÊÓƵœHis teams were incredibly tough. They werenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t going to turn the ball over, and they were going to get back every time on defense. Thatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s what it was. We didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t spend a lot of time trying to score on a baseline out-of-bounds or run this tricky play. His tricky play was, òòò½ÊÓƵ˜Weòòò½ÊÓƵ™re going to go rebound it every time the ball goes up, and weòòò½ÊÓƵ™re going rebound with two hands and put the ball in the basket.òòò½ÊÓƵ™
òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve been really fortunate to work with those guys and be part of NCAA tournament teams as an assistant and part of teams that won games in the NCAA tournament,òòò½ÊÓƵ he continued. òòò½ÊÓƵœI have had an opportunity to look at it, and I know what it takes. Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m not confused on that. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s something Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m very confident in, and Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m inordinately confident in the people we will put in place from a staffing standpoint who can get the players we need to get to the NCAA tournament.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Hodgeòòò½ÊÓƵ™s time with Eustachy and McCasland reinforced his belief that basketball games are won on the defensive end.
òòò½ÊÓƵœHistorically, if you look at teams that win and teams that win (in the postseason), itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s because theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re rooted in defense, especially in the Big 12,òòò½ÊÓƵ òòò½ÊÓƵUòòò½ÊÓƵ™s new coach stated. òòò½ÊÓƵœYou can look it up òòò½ÊÓƵ” when Kansas was winning the Big 12, they were the best defensive team in the league. Houston has won the Big 12 recently, and theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve been the best defensive team in the league.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Houston (35-5), which fell in heartbreaking fashion in this yearòòò½ÊÓƵ™s NCAA championship game, was not only the best defensive team in the Big 12 this year but also the best in the country, allowing just 58.6 points per game. Drake was No. 2 in that category (58.9 ppg), and Hodgeòòò½ÊÓƵ™s North Texas Mean Green (27-9) were No. 3 (60.1 ppg). The season before, Houston (32-5) again led Division I in scoring defense (57.6 ppg), while North Texas (19-15) was No. 12 (63.8 ppg).
òòò½ÊÓƵœI think some of my style comes from my playing days and also seeing what gives our teams the best chance to win and win consistently,òòò½ÊÓƵ Hodge explained. òòò½ÊÓƵœNot only has our scoring defense been really good, but we (at UNT) also went back and forth with Houston for having the best road winning percentage in the country the last eight years. If youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re going to win on the road, you better be tough and you better be physical.
òòò½ÊÓƵœYou better be able to defend, and you better have elite guard play. During our time, weòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve had some of the best guards in the country.òòò½ÊÓƵ
While defense has been the hallmark of Hodgeòòò½ÊÓƵ™s teams in the past, he says his clubs also could score reasonably well. This past season, the Mean Green averaged 68.0 points per game, which was just a tick below òòò½ÊÓƵU, which averaged 68.2 ppg and finished with a 19-13 record.
òòò½ÊÓƵœOur defense does get a lot attention, and itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s talked about the most,òòò½ÊÓƵ stated Hodge. òòò½ÊÓƵœThe one thing that doesnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t get talked about much, and I have to remind people, but when you look at KenPom (analysis of statistics), which is a way of measuring efficiency, we had the second-best offense in our league out of 14 teams. Our defense gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but we were also an extremely efficient offense. If you look at the last two years, we had one of the best 3-point percentages in the entire country.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Offensively North Texas was 167th in Division I this past season in field-goal percentage (44.7%), 65th in 3-point percentage (36.2%) and 30th in free throw percentage (77.0%), while also finishing 79th in rebounding margin (+3.5), 45th in turnovers committed per game (10.3) and 153rd in turnovers forced per game (12.2).
òòò½ÊÓƵœWeòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve had players offensively do things theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve never done and break school records,òòò½ÊÓƵ noted Hodge. òòò½ÊÓƵœAtin Wright (who led UNT in scoring this year with an average of 15.2 points per game), he averaged (14.1) points per game the season before on an NCAA tournament team (playing for Darian DeVries at Drake), and this year he made more 3s for us (101) than he did for them (65) last year.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWhat wins basketball games? Sharing the ball, taking care of the ball, playing the right way, everybody playing for each other, the right guys taking the right shots at the right time. Our tempo, it gets pointed out and used negatively against us a times, but you know who was one spot above us in tempo? Houston, and theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re winning championships. Thatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s the ultimate goal.òòò½ÊÓƵ
